York schools faced with tough budget choices

YORK — A public hearing Tuesday night on the York School District budget and $570,000 in planned personnel cuts was expected to attract a standing-room only crowd at the York Public Library.

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By Susan Morse

seacoastonline.com

By Susan Morse

Posted Jan. 22, 2014 at 2:00 AM

By Susan Morse
Posted Jan. 22, 2014 at 2:00 AM

At a glance

Check online at www.seacoastonline.com for further results of Tuesday's public hearing on the proposed York School Budget, calling for $570,000 in personnel cuts.

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At a glance

Check online at www.seacoastonline.com for further results of Tuesday's public hearing on the proposed York School Budget, calling for $570,000 in personnel cuts.

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YORK — A public hearing Tuesday night on the York School District budget and $570,000 in planned personnel cuts was expected to attract a standing-room only crowd at the York Public Library.

But it's been evident for a few weeks now that some tough choices were coming.

Prior to Tuesday, Superintendent Debra Dunn said the personnel cuts meant the elimination of seven to nine positions. The specific jobs being cut were expected to be released on Tuesday night.

Prior to Tuesday, Dunn gave no specific jobs being cut or say whether the positions are full- or part-time. She did say school officials hope some cuts would be made through retirements.

Since the School Committee recommended the $570,000 in personnel cuts on Jan. 15, Dunn has met with the presidents of the unions for teachers and support staff, she said.

The cuts would affect support personnel, according to Lisa Jones, president of the York Educational Support Professionals. "It's going to be significant and far-reaching," Jones said Thursday. "All these people are essential to making the school run smoothly."

"Whether it's a teacher or support staff, it's going to be tough," said York Teachers' Union President Jeff Smith. The School Committee "promised not to increase class sizes. If we lose support staff, it will still affect that teacher."

Last January, public protest helped restore two of three technology integrator positions planned for elimination, for a total of five, full-time administrative and clerical positions cut from the school budget.

Education Matters in York, a group that formed last year, sounded a cautious note on what the public should expect Tuesday night.

"At this point, parents and community members are, of course, concerned regarding potential cuts to the York school 2014-2015 budget," spokeswoman Heather Cleary said. "It is sincerely recognized that this is no easy decision for anyone involved. At this time, parents and community members are engaging in conversations and gathering information."

Jones said she hoped residents at Tuesday's public hearing would say, "Don't cut." Voters in York are supportive of education and school officials shouldn't assume voters would reject the original budget, she said.

"To have the excellent schools that we have, costs," Jones said. "The reason York has high property values, besides being on the ocean, is the excellent school system."

Jones is a special education technician at York High School, one of an estimated 120 support staff employees in York who work as education technicians, food service employees, custodians and secretarial staff, she said. Support staff is paid at an hourly rate, Jones said. The highest paid education technician, who has been working at the school district for 20 years, makes about $20 an hour, she said.

The School Committee recommended $570,000 in personnel cuts to reduce the 5.36 percent increase to taxpayers in the proposed $29.1 million school budget down to a 3.15 percent increase in a $28.6 million budget, according to figures from Jim Amoroso, director of finance and operations.

School officials blame a 13-percent hike in health insurance costs — for a second year in a row — from the Maine Education Association Benefits Trust, for inflating the budget.

Dunn updated parents on the budget in an e-mail after winter break. Instructional needs this year include replacing outdated York Middle School science textbooks from the 1990s and increasing science supplies in the elementary schools due to an absence of material in Grades K-4, she said.

"In order to absorb the greatest increase in our budget due to health care benefits and at the same time ensure we are providing updated, rigorous instruction to our students, again this year we will need to make reductions," Dunn said in the e-mail.